coming of age means

you have to do the work.

you get no help,

you never will

you have to figure it out alone

and if you say something back,

people think you’re weak.

coming of age means

you will never be enough.

your parents will think you should do more

your teachers will think you can get better grades

your friends will think you need to be more fun

your mind will think you need to be better....

I am the ghost of the first mother.

I guide my daughters through their lives, helping them grow. When they themselves have daughters, I help them raise them, to learn to let them go when it is time. Then those daughters are guided onto the path with me that will lead them to raising their own kids.

On and on, the cycle goes.

Occasionally, I assist a father as well.

They are EXTREMELY relucta...

⚠️DISCLAIMER⚠️: the song Daylight by David Kushner sets the mood for this story. If you want, you can listen to it when reading!

I guess I thought graduating from one of the top schools would make me feel complete again. I was wrong.

For the past months of university, my friends were going to parties and actually enjoying themselves. I don’t know if I could even call them friends. I knew ...

the moment you open your eyes

the world will awaken with you

the crown of fire upon your head

burning along with the innocence

that comes with childhood

a shining silver tiara

adorned among those long braids

you’ve wondered for years

of who, or what you are

you have lived many lives

are you a warrior, a fighter of justice?

or are you a princess, and bringer of peace?

if not, then what?

a star...

The wind sifted through the trees creating the familiar, earthly sound that normally would have made Rayne aware of the breath entering his lungs. The sound of the river flowing endlessly over logs and through debris would usually remind him of the water slipping through his toes, helping the fog leave his wakeful mind.

Today, though, the woods did none of those things

There wasn’t just a fog i...

growing up is strange

you think people are born to show kindness

until you get taunted for being you

then you realize people aren’t what they seem

you think your friends will be there for life

until they stab you in the back

then you realize friends come and go

you think that your parents are the perfect love

until they divorce when you’re fifteen

then you realize perfect love doesn’t exist...

Unused lockers line my high school hallways. Appropriately named, since everyone is high.

Eighteen has never felt like more of a curse: here I stand straddling the fence of adulthood with one foot still firmly planted in this prison they call school.

Expectations are readily dumped on me and I take them without complaint. I want my independence after all, and don’t mind the weight.

...

(This is Not real🥲 some parts may resemble me but…yeah)

It was my birthday today, grampa.

My sixteenth to be exact.

I wish you were here,

As I told you about my year.

My face flooded with silent tears.

You acted as if my father,

So of course I was there for you too.

For if my grandmother hadn’t remarried,

I don’t know how I would have carried.

It’s my sixteenth to be exact,

My quince was alre...

He’s coming round the mountaintop

The stranger we all meet

And he is not inclined to wait

For those that drag their feet

He’ll wrap you in a tattered cloak

Or a glorious one, should you reach and take it,

And though he’ll never crush your throat

His softest grip may break it

You met him once before

Far back on a winding road

When you were young

And walked with lions

He offered you humility

And...

I started putting nickels

in a mason jar.

I’d find them on the street

or in couch cushions.

The jar sat in my closet,

always hungry.

As the jar grew,

so did my anticipation.

Once nearly full,

I showed my parents, beaming.

Befuddled by the jar’s purpose,

my dad turned it to read the label.

Painted on the side in red letters:

“For Braces.”

I couldn’t understand why

that made my dad cry....